Sound Advice: Pulitzer Winner Raven Chacon on Finding Musicians & Making Meaning with Music

ASCAP member Raven Chacon is a respected composer, performer and installation artist. His open-minded approach to composition and improvisation has earned Chacon numerous fellowships and invitations to perform at prestigious music festivals around the world.

Most recently, Chacon became the first Native American to earn the Pulitzer Prize in Music, for his powerful and unsettling piece “Voiceless Mass” - described by the Pulitzer commission as “a mesmerizing, original work for organ and ensemble that evokes the weight of history in a church setting, a concentrated and powerful musical expression with a haunting visceral impact.” You can watch its November 21, 2021 premiere performance by Present Music here. 

Throughout his music career, Chacon has also mentored emerging musicians, and participated in the Native American Composer Apprenticeship Project since 2004. 

For this installment of Sound Advice, he opines on how composers can find musicians to perform their music, how to infuse social/political messages into your music, and how the space where your music will be performed can shape your compositions. 

Find out more about Raven Chacon at spiderwebsinthesky.com